One of our favorite underground emcee discoveries of last year was NNAMDI OGBONNAYA's "Drool," one hell of a well-rounded and diverse, yet-concise alternative hip-hop records. He crushed it last year at Strange Matter with Vagabon and will be bringing back the Nnamdi Ensemble Quartet, this time to the jewel of Jackson Ward, GALLERY 5! Nnamdi alone is worth getting excited about, but local support from two of RVA's most shining up-and-comers seals the deal on this being unmissable with MCKINLEY DIXON & FRIENDS as well as ALFRED. & YUNG POCKET$! Stoked as always to keep working together with RVA SHOWS to bring you as much music as the city demands!

____________________________NNAMDI OGBONNAYA is a multi-instrumentalist composer, producer, and performer. His musical identity was forged in the DIY community of Chicago. Relentless participation in numerous musical projects bridged genres and created inroads between scenes. Near constant activity quickly made him a locus of gravity in the community. Constant participation quickly opened channels to a broad cross-section of the arts world. Nnamdi has toured the USA, Mexico Europe and Canada with projects ranging from punk to jazz. A full accounting of his musical activity over the last eight years includes approximately 15 bands and dozens of tours. All the while, Nnamdi has not only released a stream of records and EPs under his name and the ironic moniker “Nnamdi’s Sooper Dooper Secret Side Project”, but also runs his own label called SOOPER Records.

His solo styling combines hip-hop, experimental rock, gospel, and jazz. His songs can often contain a sense of satire that is just as humorous as it is critical. Nnamdi’s lyrical insights draw on the diversity of his cultural experience as a Black, Jewish, first generation Nigerian-American. His work is characterized by the coupling of sophisticated compositional structures with pop-music motifs. Nnamdi’s latest record DROOL is his most mature and accessible work to date.